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Ideal Location Chicago Real Estate, LLC  in partnership with Buyers Utopia is now offering all their clients mobile searches. Clients with iPhones & Android based smart phones now will be able to get “on the go” real estate searches in the Chicago metro area.  The mobile site is a great way for real estate buyers to stay connected.  Clients can log in with their social media accounts using Google, Yahoo or Facebook credentials to make access fast & easy.
Say’s Managing Broker, Eli Schultz, “The mobile web may still be in …

In today’s Real Estate Market many buyers are taking advantage of builders who purchased land and started to develop property right before the bubble burst. Purchasers in Chicago and the Suburbs are finding spec homes and condos under the price of what it costs the builders to actually build today. In the height of the McMansion boom, builders where running wild, buying tear-downs, and speculating on the Real Estate Market.  Now these builders are working with their banks to move the houses or just walking away from the projects. Some house …

On December 31 2009 Illinois Governor Quinn signed into law amendments to the Real Estate License Act of 2000.  The new focus of the amendments was consumer protection and increased professional competence of Real Estate licensees.  Moving forward Illinois will have new license classification and education requirements for both new and existing licensees.
The key date is May 1, 2012, as of that date there will be three classifications of licensure in the State of Illinois.  The Illinois Residential Lease Agent, this classification will in essence be the same as the …

Household grants from $10,000 to $40,000 Available from City for First-time purchasers of  owner-occupied Two-Four Unit Buildings. The City of Chicago has an unusual amount of two and four-unit owner-occupied buildings in the many interesting, livable neighborhoods that offer parks, recreation, ethnic restaurants, and a sense of local community.  Owning a two to four-unit building provides additional income, and allows for future extended family living.
There are many options in the new grant programs. Home purchase assistance is available, reducing down payment and closing costs for first-time buyers who are purchasing …

If you are a Chicago first time buyer you owe it to yourself to find out more about the down payment assistance programs that we have available. Down payment assistance is available for home in most Chicago neighborhoods.  Whether it is a condo that suits your need or a historic bungalow, there are many different homes for sale and with historically low interest rates now is a great time to buy.
The City of Chicago Home Purchase Assistance Program assists buyers who want to become home owners but may lack the …

Investment Opportunities in Oak Park Real Estate The old saw, “location, location, location” has kept Oak Park property values strong and stable, and with green concerns and energy costs, continues to provide a leading edge for this community that is centrally situated between urban downtown Chicago and the Far West suburbs. Vacancy rates in Oak Park investment property remain consistently low; interest in redevelopment remains high. Many opportunities exist in the multiple commercial and business districts as well as in the residential sectors.
Ideal Location Chicago Real Estate’s broker Eli Schultz, …

Prairie Style architect E.E. Roberts led the way in Oak Park’s multi-family residences when he built an innovative  multi-unit structure in the heart of the community’s residential district. That building, now a condominium, reflects Oak Park Real Estate’s mix of multi-unit , two-flat, and single-family residences that are interspersed throughout the neighborhoods. Many vintage buildings offer large proportioned space for condominium living, with high ceilings, interior decorative details including wainscoting and molding, and leaded glass windows. There are also 50s and 60s buildings, convenient for commuting, and a new surge …

Influenced by the Prairie Style, builders constructed American Foursquare houses in Oak Park in the twentieth century. These houses have roomy interiors and share many features with the Prairie style homes.  They can be found in all the Oak Park neighborhoods. Often they have been dressed up by borrowing elements from Queen Anne, Mission, or Craftsman architectural features.  In Oak Park, “foursquares” come in brick, stone, stucco, and wood siding. Many wood-sided foursquares display the original narrow horizontals and trim that the Prairie architects used and homeowners have painted the …

When the arts and crafts movement hit the Midwest in the late nineteenth century, it dramatically influenced architecture, interior design, and home furnishings. Elements of the original arts and crafts ideal surface in Oak Park property in its neighborhood houses, and in contemporary arts and crafts designers, restorers, and antique arts and crafts dealers. Craftsman houses are known for the interior built-ins, including cabinets, shelves and seating, superior carpentry, lots of lead-glass and stained glass windows, and dark wood wainscoting and moldings. Many craftsman houses have beamed ceilings and open …

When the Gunderson Brothers built houses in Oak Park more than one hundred years ago, they had families in mind: lots of spacious bedrooms and dining and living spaces for get-togethers and gatherings.  The Gundersons wanted the best quality and hired an architect, Frank Osborn De Money to design the homes. They even brought craftsmen from Norway to build the houses. These were going to be homes that were comfortable and built to last. Several hundred houses in the Prairie-style dotted Oak Park properties and are now designated as Oak …